At 23 years old, emerging violin virtuoso Yan Tong has come a long way in a short time. From Shanghai to Europe to Massachusetts, her long list of accomplishments includes taking first prize in the Chinese International Violin Competition in New York, third prize in the Austrian Brahms Competition, and first prize in the International Violin Competition in France.
Under leading American violinist Donald Weilerstein, Ms. Tong is currently studying at the New England Conservatory, where The Epoch Times recently caught up with her for a phone interview.
Like most great musicians, Ms. Tong has been playing music since the earliest age at which her physical and mental capabilities would allow it.
“My mother got me started on piano when I was four, then switched me to violin a year later, because violin is smaller and fit my size better,” said Ms. Tong, who speaks in mostly fluent English, only sometimes relying on an interpreter.
Her regimen included about five hours of practice a day if she wasn’t in school and one to two hours a day on school days.
Yan recalls that at first it was just drudgery, like punching the clock everyday, but through years of hardship—for both her and her mother—it blossomed into something she loved.
“One day when I was nine, I was not paying attention to practice and made my mom really angry. She broke my violin and said, ‘You will never play it again.’ I cried. Then, I realized how much I love to play,” recalled Ms. Tong.
That was just the beginning. Ms. Tong’s musical excellence has brought her to music schools and competitions in Asia, Europe, and North America.
Just last year, she took first prize in the NTDTV International Chinese Violin Competition in New York. This unique competition, sponsored by New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV), is one among nine that seek to preserve and refine traditional Chinese culture.
For Ms. Tong, it was “quite fun. Not like other competitions, where people are very competitive and thinking, ‘I hope she’s worse than me.’ The Chinese Violin Competition didn’t feel like a competition, more like a festival.”
“There are so many good Chinese players from different countries. We made friends, learned from each other. Some of them I still keep in touch with.”
Ms. Tong’s most memorable experience from the competition was playing the Beethoven concerto in G major as part of the competition requirements.
“When I was young, it was the first concerto I had heard and I wanted to play it so much. But over the years I heard many people play it, and most of them sounded boring,” she recalled.
The competition was the first time she finally confronted the concerto.
“I felt it was so beautiful. One day, when I was practicing it for the competition, I had a feeling that ‘nothing is important but just this music.’”
“Before, I heard stories about musicians who were so poor, but they continued to pursue their music even when they had nothing to eat. I thought how could that be possible?” she said. “But now I believe it. While practicing this piece, I felt I achieved the same feeling, like nothing is important, not money or fame, [nothing] except for the music.”
This profound feeling is something that only Bach and Beethoven have made Ms. Tong feel so far.
“One time, after a recital, one of my friends said to me, ‘I cried when you played Bach; it was so pure that it sounded like you were having a conversation with God.’”
Another competition that Ms. Tong will never forget is the Brahms competition in Austria in 2006. On her way there, the 20-year-old Ms. Tong got a connecting flight in England and it just so happened that it was during the liquid bomb plot at London Heathrow Airport.
“British Airways canceled all the flights. I was in the airport for a whole day before they transferred me to Air France. Upon arriving in Austria, I had only five dollars in my pocket, and I found out they lost my luggage and violin,” she recalled, laughing in hindsight.
“The violin came back after four days. But I lost time to practice. My stage dress was in the luggage, which was never found. I ended up wearing jeans on stage.”
Not expecting to make it to the final round, she barely practiced one piece. In the end, though, she won third place.
What does the future hold for Ms. Tong? After her master’s degree and possibly more schooling, she’ll pursue an orchestra job, chamber music with friends, or teaching young talented students.
Fate would have it that unlike some popular musicians, MTV music videos and billboard charts are probably not in store for this young violin virtuoso. But she’s not fazed.
“My fate is different. You also don’t get a first place in competition because you play well. It could be your luck or fate,” said Ms. Tong.
Under leading American violinist Donald Weilerstein, Ms. Tong is currently studying at the New England Conservatory, where The Epoch Times recently caught up with her for a phone interview.
Like most great musicians, Ms. Tong has been playing music since the earliest age at which her physical and mental capabilities would allow it.
“My mother got me started on piano when I was four, then switched me to violin a year later, because violin is smaller and fit my size better,” said Ms. Tong, who speaks in mostly fluent English, only sometimes relying on an interpreter.
Her regimen included about five hours of practice a day if she wasn’t in school and one to two hours a day on school days.
Yan recalls that at first it was just drudgery, like punching the clock everyday, but through years of hardship—for both her and her mother—it blossomed into something she loved.
“One day when I was nine, I was not paying attention to practice and made my mom really angry. She broke my violin and said, ‘You will never play it again.’ I cried. Then, I realized how much I love to play,” recalled Ms. Tong.
That was just the beginning. Ms. Tong’s musical excellence has brought her to music schools and competitions in Asia, Europe, and North America.
Just last year, she took first prize in the NTDTV International Chinese Violin Competition in New York. This unique competition, sponsored by New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV), is one among nine that seek to preserve and refine traditional Chinese culture.
For Ms. Tong, it was “quite fun. Not like other competitions, where people are very competitive and thinking, ‘I hope she’s worse than me.’ The Chinese Violin Competition didn’t feel like a competition, more like a festival.”
“There are so many good Chinese players from different countries. We made friends, learned from each other. Some of them I still keep in touch with.”
Ms. Tong’s most memorable experience from the competition was playing the Beethoven concerto in G major as part of the competition requirements.
“When I was young, it was the first concerto I had heard and I wanted to play it so much. But over the years I heard many people play it, and most of them sounded boring,” she recalled.
The competition was the first time she finally confronted the concerto.
“I felt it was so beautiful. One day, when I was practicing it for the competition, I had a feeling that ‘nothing is important but just this music.’”
“Before, I heard stories about musicians who were so poor, but they continued to pursue their music even when they had nothing to eat. I thought how could that be possible?” she said. “But now I believe it. While practicing this piece, I felt I achieved the same feeling, like nothing is important, not money or fame, [nothing] except for the music.”
This profound feeling is something that only Bach and Beethoven have made Ms. Tong feel so far.
“One time, after a recital, one of my friends said to me, ‘I cried when you played Bach; it was so pure that it sounded like you were having a conversation with God.’”
Another competition that Ms. Tong will never forget is the Brahms competition in Austria in 2006. On her way there, the 20-year-old Ms. Tong got a connecting flight in England and it just so happened that it was during the liquid bomb plot at London Heathrow Airport.
“British Airways canceled all the flights. I was in the airport for a whole day before they transferred me to Air France. Upon arriving in Austria, I had only five dollars in my pocket, and I found out they lost my luggage and violin,” she recalled, laughing in hindsight.
“The violin came back after four days. But I lost time to practice. My stage dress was in the luggage, which was never found. I ended up wearing jeans on stage.”
Not expecting to make it to the final round, she barely practiced one piece. In the end, though, she won third place.
What does the future hold for Ms. Tong? After her master’s degree and possibly more schooling, she’ll pursue an orchestra job, chamber music with friends, or teaching young talented students.
Fate would have it that unlike some popular musicians, MTV music videos and billboard charts are probably not in store for this young violin virtuoso. But she’s not fazed.
“My fate is different. You also don’t get a first place in competition because you play well. It could be your luck or fate,” said Ms. Tong.
